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Secretary General's Column

On January 26, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada issued an important decision in a pay equity case involving the Canadian Union of Public Employees (Airline Division) and Air Canada. At issue was the interpretation of the word “establishment” found in section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The Canadian Human Rights Commission has consistently argued that comparisons for the sake of pay equity may be made between employees of the same organization or business that are subject to an employer’s common personnel and wage policy, even if they are governed by different collective agreements. Air Canada contended that each bargaining unit covered by a separate collective agreement was to be considered as an establishment.

The Court’s ruling supports the Commission’s view that comparisons related to pay equity may be made between pilots, mechanics and flight attendants employed by Air Canada. Even though they are covered by different collective agreements, these groups are considered to be working in the same establishment. This clarification from the Court will make the investigation of this case and other pay equity cases simpler and faster. It will also help employers when they assess the value of work performed by different groups within their organization, removing any uncertainty about which groups of employees can be compared.

The Commission is pleased that the Court has confirmed its interpretation of section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. This decision of the Court will enable us to build on our efforts to streamline the handling of complaints - those related to pay equity and other types of discrimination - and devote more of the Commission’s resources to working with employers to prevent workplace discrimination from occurring in the first place.